The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
WYSIAYG
/wiz'ee?ayg/, adj.
Describes a user interface under which ?What You See Is All You Get?; an
unhappy variant of WYSIWYG. Visual, ?point-and-shoot?-style interfaces
tend to have easy initial learning curves, but also to lack depth; they
often frustrate advanced users who would be better served by a
command-style interface. When this happens, the frustrated user has a
WYSIAYG problem. This term is most often used of editors, word processors,
and document formatting programs. WYSIWYG ?desktop publishing? programs,
for example, are a clear win for creating small documents with lots of
fonts and graphics in them, especially things like newsletters and
presentation slides. When typesetting book-length manuscripts, on the other
hand, scale changes the nature of the task; one quickly runs into WYSIAYG
limitations, and the increased power and flexibility of a command-driven
formatter like TeX or Unix's troff becomes not just desirable but a
necessity. Compare YAFIYGI.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
What You See Is All You Get
WYSIAYG
(WYSIAYG) /wiz'ee-ayg/ Describes a user interface
under which "What You See Is *All* You Get"; an unhappy
variant of WYSIWYG. Visual, "point-and-drool interfaces"
are easy to learn but often lack depth; they often frustrate
advanced users who would be better served by a command-style
interface. When this happens, the frustrated user has a
WYSIAYG problem.
This term is most often used of editors, word processors,
and document formatting programs. WYSIWYG "desktop
publishing" programs, for example, are a clear win for
creating small documents with lots of fonts and graphics in
them, especially things like newsletters and presentation
slides. When typesetting book-length manuscripts, on the
other hand, scale changes the nature of the task; one quickly
runs into WYSIAYG limitations, and the increased power and
flexibility of a command-driven formatter like TeX or
Unix's troff becomes not just desirable but a necessity.
Compare YAFIYGI.
(1999-03-03)